We will stop political killings, says Ramaphosa

Daniel Friedman

President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: AFP/File/Angela Weiss

The president also focused on gender-based violence, which he says his party is fighting to ‘end’.

Addressing a capacity crowd at the launch of the ANC’s new manifesto at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, President Cyril Ramaphosa confronted the political killings that have rocked the province.

According to the president, the number of political killings has decreased, and he promised that his party will “stem the tide” of these killings, “particularly here in KwaZulu-Natal”.

Attempts on the part of law enforcement to hold those who commit political killings accountable are working, according to the president. “A number of suspects have been arrested and are now being prosecuted,” he said.

This was not the form of crime that the president devoted most time to in his speech, however. He discussed gender-based violence at length, and asked all men in the stadium to stand, say “thuma mina (send me)”, and commit to making this form of violence “history”.

The president said the ANC supports calls for harsher sentences for those who perpetrate gender-based violence and highlighted the need for a better justice system and more effective law enforcement.